PDA: What it is and What it isn't
Presented by B. Kuereine Gray
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is an increasingly discussed behavioral profile, yet it is often misunderstood, inconsistently defined, and misapplied in clinical practice. This continuing education session provides behavior analysts with a clear, evidence-informed overview of PDA, including its historical context, current conceptualizations, and common areas of confusion. Participants will learn to distinguish PDA-related behavioral presentations from other forms of escape-maintained behavior, consider ethical responsibilities to clients when addressing emerging profiles, and identify appropriate assessment considerations. The session also emphasizes maintaining professional competence, advocating for appropriate services, and locating reliable professional and stakeholder resources to support clients and families.
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Learner ratings
from 64 learners
100% would recommend this CEU to other professionals in their field (12 responses)
“I love the presentation. My only recommendation to the page administrator is to mute people who are not presenting. It was very distracting and disrespectful: background noise from someone typing and yawning while the presenter was speaking.”
— Koralis L.“Good”
— Trupthi K.“Great presentation, however the recording quality for the audio was awful. The first half was so quiet, even with headphones on at max volume I could barely hear the presenter. I heard whoever did the recording breathing, typing, coughing, and someones phone going off several times. In the second half I heard the murmur of children playing in the background.”
— Evelyn H.“Great topic!”
— Melissa U.“Information shared was very helpful.”
— William M.“Awesome to learn more about PDA”
— Emma H.
About this CEU
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is an increasingly discussed behavioral profile, yet it is often misunderstood, inconsistently defined, and misapplied in clinical practice. This continuing education session provides behavior analysts with a clear, evidence-informed overview of PDA, including its historical context, current conceptualizations, and common areas of confusion. Participants will learn to distinguish PDA-related behavioral presentations from other forms of escape-maintained behavior, consider ethical responsibilities to clients when addressing emerging profiles, and identify appropriate assessment considerations. The session also emphasizes maintaining professional competence, advocating for appropriate services, and locating reliable professional and stakeholder resources to support clients and families.
What you'll learn
- 1Learning Objectives
- 2After completing this session, participants will be able to:
- 3Describe the historical development and current status of PDA-related profiles and discussions within the broader autism and behavioral health communities (Ethics Code 3.01).
- 4Identify key features of PDA-related behavioral presentations and distinguish what PDA is and is not, based on current research and community-informed perspectives (Ethics Code 1.06).
- 5Recognize behavioral responses, antecedents, and contextual factors commonly associated with increased probability of PDA-type responses, while avoiding overgeneralization (Ethics Code 1.06).
- 6Locate appropriate professional, community, and stakeholder resources to support ethical advocacy and service recommendations for clients and families (Ethics Code 3.12).
Concepts in this CEU
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